


Today Is History

by Poochee



Series: LauntFamily!AU [3]
Category: Formula 1 RPF, Rush (2013)
Genre: Baby!Kimi, Character Development, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Launt Family AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-23
Updated: 2014-04-23
Packaged: 2018-01-20 13:59:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1513067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poochee/pseuds/Poochee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i> “So…” </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>James knows that ‘so’. He’s heard it from his friends, siblings, and even some random strangers. He knows what’s coming.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>“How do you feel…?” Niki’s having a tough time trying to phrase his question, making little gestures with his hands and staring at the coffee table in front of them.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>“About being a father?” James finishes for him, his voice soft and not all that curious.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Niki gives a little nod. </i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Today Is History

**Author's Note:**

> more fluffiness for youuuu  
> also developing friendship yaaay

All of their things fit into about fifteen boxes. The kitchen and living room take up ten of the larger boxes, Kimi’s toys and clothes take up two smaller ones by themselves, while his diapers fill up one just by itself. The remaining two boxes are left for himself, so James ends up throwing a lot of his things away. He’s sitting on the floor in his bedroom with various items scattered around him, ranging from photographs to trinkets and even some clothes. Kimi’s on the bed, gurgling and cooing as rolls onto his back to his stomach, and back again. James has put up a fortress of pillows around his son so he doesn’t roll right off the bed and hurt himself.

This rolling habit is new. Ever since Kimi’s discovered his own ability, he’s been doing it every chance he gets while lying down, and if he’s not sleepy enough to nap. James doesn’t mind, he finds it amusing, and he doesn’t have to exercise Kimi as much.

He’s looking through some old pictures, of friends that have come and gone, along with some family ones. He throws away a few, but keeps some in another little pile. He’s almost done when he finds a more recent one, and he jolts in surprise.

“Oh, oh, Kimi!” He exclaims, eyes widening as he scrambles towards the bed with a photo in hand, climbing onto it and startling the little boy. Kimi’s face crumples and he lets out a little cry, but quiets when James lays down with him and shows him the photo.

“It’s your mum, darling,” the Brit murmurs, gently rolling Kimi onto his back so the little Finn is tucked into his side, staring up at the picture of his mother and James, smiling together with Isla’s arm wrapped around him. She’s gorgeous as ever, wearing a fitted coat and jeans, her blond hair in beautiful waves. They were at a party, James remembers, one that she invited him to and they had gone home together that night.

“See?” James brings the picture closer to his son, smiling down at Kimi, “There’s me, and there’s mum.” Kimi reaches up and grabs the picture from James’ hand, instantly bringing it to his mouth to suck on.

“Hey,” a chuckle leaves the blond, and he saves the photo from a drooly death, but Kimi fusses with a little bit of whining. “None of that, you’ll probably want this when you’re older.” He scolds softly, placing a kiss to his son’s forehead gently. He places the picture aside and turns to face Kimi, who’s rolled to the other side of the bed. He stops once he hits the pillow, and then looks up, blinking his icy grey eyes as he stares at James.

“Come, baby,” James mutters, patting the space in front of him, and Kimi eyes it for a second before looking at his father’s face again. He doesn’t move. James sighs and smiles, grabbing a nearby pillow and placing it under his head, “Come nap, Kimy. Come nap with me.”

Kimi yells at him and it ends with a gurgle, and James smirks. He loves ‘talking’ with Kimi, so he asks, “Why not?”

The little boy gurgles and rubs his face into the soft blanket beneath him, and James chuckles.

“What was that?”

Kimi gurgles again, lifting his head and looking at James with furrowed brows.

“Oh, you look just like that rat, Niki, love,” James chuckles again, finally sitting up and crawling over to his son, picking him up easily and cuddling him as Kimi squirms against his bare chest, “Your mother was rarely angry, from what I know. She was laid-back but took no bullshit from anyone, she was nice.”

He smiles down at Kimi, who has stopped fussing, before carefully moving them off the bed, “Shall we go feed you now? You look a little hungry, always putting things in your mouth—ow, Kimi, my hair!”

\--

They’re all packed up and ready to move on the second day. Niki had called early in the morning, asking James if he needed help, and he did.

“Where’s Kimi?” The Austrian asks once he arrives, looking around the nearly-empty place and quickly counting the boxes in the living room.

“With my mother,” the blond hums, moving over to the mattress leaning against the wall, “Let’s move this first, it’s the largest.”

Not that James would admit it at the time, but trying to move his mattress down two flights of stairs with the bossy Niki is funny.

“No, James—you idiot, don’t do that!”

“What the hell am I supposed to do, then?!”

It’s not surprising that in less than ten minutes they’re fighting. The only thing keeping them from grabbing at one another’s throats is the mattress separating them.

“If you’re so fucking smart, you get this damned thing down yourself!”

“Shut up and lift it, Hunt.”

A teenage girl barely manages to squeeze past them, but when she does, she cheekily asks them how long they’ve been married, and she laughs despite the heated glare she gets from a certain Austrian. James would find that funny now, too.

\--

They don’t finish moving until later in the evening, both of them returning to the flat after taking the moving van back to the company James had borrowed it from.

Niki is in desperate need of a shower, and James is craving a drink.

He goes through six boxes before finding his liquor wrapped in towels, and offers Niki some.

“No.”

James raises a brow, “You sure? It’s been a long day.”

“Yes, it has, so I am going to shower and sleep.”

James watches Niki from his place on the floor, the brunet making his way over to the kitchen. James opens up his whiskey and takes a quick pull, barely wincing at the burn before he climbs to his feet and makes his way into the other room.

“Do you drink? At all?”

Niki opens up the fridge and peers inside, “Yes, occasionally.”

“Is this not an occasion?” James smirks, opening up a cupboard and closing it, trying the next one.

“It could be,” is all Niki mutters, straightening up and pressing his lips together in a frown.

“Drink with me, Lauda.”

They stare at one another for a moment or two, hearing the faint ticking of the clock against the wall, until Niki shuts the refrigerator door quietly.

\--

“So…”

James knows that ‘so’. He’s heard it from his friends, siblings, and even some random strangers. He knows what’s coming.

“How do you feel…?” Niki’s having a tough time trying to phrase his question, making little gestures with his hands and staring at the coffee table in front of them.

“About being a father?” James finishes for him, his voice soft and not all that curious.

Niki gives a little nod, taking another sip of his vodka and orange juice in a green glass cup.

James licks his lips and cradles his own glass of whiskey, staring down at it in his lap for a moment as he collects his thoughts. “I like being a dad,” he mutters after an eternity, “I never thought I would. I’ve loved animals and pets ever since I was a kid, but babies are different, yet in a sense they’re kind of the same…”

Niki’s brows furrow and they take a peek at one another, looking away when they catch one another’s eye. The air isn’t full of tension, yet it is, because they’re not friends but they’re not strangers, either. They’ve talked on the track, argued, but nothing like this.

“You take care of them, feed them, play and cuddle them…it’s a responsibility.” He takes a sip of his whiskey again, swallowing it easily but still feeling the burn as it goes down his throat, “I like it. It keeps me grounded. Before I had Kimi, I was kind of lost—well, I still am. I don’t know what I’m doing with myself yet aside from racing, raising a son, just trying to…find my place, y’know?”

He feels like a fool for saying so much, but he can’t help himself. The whiskey loosens his tongue.

But Niki is watching him with a look on his face that James can’t place, and he isn’t drinking anymore. He’s only had the one glass and he’s barely finished it. This is James’ second glass, and he’s just going to start on a third. Niki is sober and will remember this in the morning, he’s not spilling his feelings out to the man who just became his new roommate, he’s not saying things to him that he hasn’t even told his mother.

He likes to think that Niki understands. Maybe he’s just as lost as James, searching for his own normality but not finding it in the circles that he’s driving in.

“Do you drink around your son?” Niki asks softly, conversationally, finally raising his glass to his lips again once the silence becomes too much. His lips are thin, but dark, and James can’t help but to compare them to his own.

For a split second, he wonders how they would feel against his.

Then, he shakes his head, but doesn’t give a reason or explanation. He’s already said too much.

\--

He wakes up to the sound of chirping birds just outside his window, around 9 a.m.

He has a headache, and it’s something that he hasn’t missed. Drinking and hangovers go hand in hand, it doesn’t matter how much or little you drink, you’ll feel it the next morning. Kind of like a car accident. Impact now, hurt later.

Niki’s making breakfast when James stumbles into the kitchen, nearly naked except for boxers that hang low on his hips. His hair is wild and his face sleepy, and Niki’s curls are just as perfect as they were last night. He’s wearing clothes, too. He probably woke up at some ungodly hour.

“Morning,” James mutters in greeting, going to the cupboard for a cup, but closing it and going to another half a second later.

“Morning,” Niki says back, flipping his egg over in the pan, glancing over at James. “Next cupboard, asshole.”

The insult soothes James in this weird way. It’s what they’re comfortable with; they expect this from one another, the brash words and half-hearted insults. It’s comforting, in this strange way that James has never experienced before meeting Niki.

Still, he doesn’t know what to say to him right now. He feels vulnerable in his almost-nakedness, but not ashamed.

He pours himself a glass of orange juice before going over to the stove and peeking over Niki’s shoulder curiously. Eggs, fried, with some sausage links.

“Typical German breakfast,” he says softly, testing the waters between them with some light-hearted teasing about Niki’s nationality.

Niki, as always, bristles at being called a German. James will never completely understand the big deal about it, but he does it to rile the man up, and it works flawlessly every time.

“I know what you are doing, James,” Niki mutters, not taking his eyes off his breakfast, “And because of that, I am no longer going to offer you any food.”

James’ shoulders slump, and he pouts, leaning against the counter and frowning down at Niki in a comical way, “Aww, why not?” He knows why not.

“Because British chaps like you do not get the privilege to eat with _Austrians_ like me.”

He bursts out laughing at that, “You are such a prick,” James grins as Niki smirks up at him in this infuriating way.

He gets a sausage link, but has to make his own eggs.

\--

The thing that amazes him about Kimi is how much his son grows. It’s almost been five months since his birth, but now, just two days after they’ve moved into Niki’s place, he has a little tooth surfacing beneath his top gum. It’s no wonder he’s been so drooly lately and putting everything in his mouth, waking up in the middle of the night and crying out. It must hurt, his poor baby.

While Kimi’s new teething ring is cooling in the freezer, James sits them down on the couch and calls Niki from his bedroom.

“See!” James grins, holding Kimi on his lap and lifting his top lip, while Niki kneels on the floor in front of them and tries to see into the baby’s mouth.

“I do not see it,” the Austrian mutters, his brows furrowed in their usual way. They’re in the living room, James in his house coat with nothing but boxers on, and Kimi in just a diaper while Niki is dressed to ‘impress’ in an old man jumper and slacks. Something about going to the bank in an hour.

James adjusts his hold on Kimi, scooting a little further onto the edge of the couch and bending over to look at the little blond’s face, “Open up, love. Let Niki see your tooth…” He manages to open Kimi’s mouth a little wider, and Niki’s eyebrows raise just as Kimi cries out and fusses from James’ prodding. “See!” James says again, grinning as he takes his hand away from Kimi’s mouth and presses a kiss to the back of his head, enjoying the scent of baby powder.

“Yes, there is a little bit of white under the gum,” Niki says, a little hint of a smile on his face as he looks at Kimi, “You are growing fast, little one.”

“Yes, he is,” James agrees proudly as Niki stands, straightening out his jumper as James presses multiple little kisses to the side of Kimi’s face and head. It’s a sight that rarely anyone would probably ever see of James Hunt, and Niki’s quick to realize it.

He stands there for a moment, stunned, before James and Kimi peer up at him.

Kimi gurgles and James stands, too, staring at Niki with a smile, “Can you hold him for a moment?”

Niki blinks himself out of his little stupor, his brows furrowing once again as he looks up at James, “ _Was?_ ”

James holds Kimi out to him, “Just for a sec, I need to go and grab his calendar.”

Niki just asks, “ _Was?_ ” again, looking even more confused.

“Hold him.” James moves Niki to the couch, sits him down, and places Kimi onto his lap. “Keep him steady, he likes to wiggle…” He places Niki’s hands on Kimi’s sides, and the baby looks up at his dad, beginning to chew on his chubby fingers.

This is the first time Niki’s ever held Kimi, and it’s strange. James rushes off to find the baby calendar in his room, leaving the two alone.

“Uh,” Niki glances down at the blond bundle in his lap, being careful not to press his fingers too hard against the soft peachy skin. Kimi just sucks on his fingers and leans back against Niki, making soft little noises in the back of his throat.

It’s weird. New.

Kimi tilts his head up and they lock eyes. Striking blue against icy grey, staring. Kimi smiles faintly, and Niki begins to gently bounce his legs, having seen relatives do so in the past. Kimi gurgles and tips his head back down, taking his fingers from his mouth and drooling all over himself.

“Ew,” Niki mutters under his breath, stopping his bouncing before looking around for something, and settling for grabbing Kimi’s sock from the coffee table, wiping the drool from the little Finn’s chest and chin. He’s seen James do that before, so it seems like the right thing to do.

“Are you wiping my son’s face with his sock?”

Niki’s head snaps up, seeing James standing in front of the hallway, looking rather amused with a calendar in his hand.

He drops the sock onto the floor and feels his cheeks burn a little from being caught, “He made a mess of himself. I tried to help.”

“Niki, it’s okay, I would have done it, too.” James chuckles, making his way over and taking a seat in front of them before placing the calendar onto the coffee table. It’s blue, with baby-related objects decorating the cover.

“What is that?” The Austrian asks, holding Kimi a little closer as he wiggles, watching James flip the calendar open and going through the pages. It looks like a regular calendar, with squares and pictures, but there were stickers everywhere and James’ handwriting all over the place.

“Kind of like a baby log, I suppose,” the Brit hums, grabbing a nearby pen and quickly finding the date, “The 10th, right?”

“Yeah.”

James writes something with his messy hand, and flips to the very back to grab a little sticker of a cartoon tooth. He smooths it onto the date before picking it up and turning it to the other two, “Look, Kimi, your first tooth!”

Niki has to tilt his head a bit to make out what the writing says.

_‘Kimi’s first tooth, left canine on top gums. 11:27 am. First witness, Niki Lauda.’_

The Austrian’s brows furrow, and he looks at James, who’s smiling at his son, “Why did you put me in there?”

“First witness,” James explains, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “Look, I marked down Kimi’s first back-to-tummy roll…” He flipped back and showed Niki the date, “My mum was the first witness, even though I showed her the next day. I like to be detailed, so Kimi can see everything he’s accomplished when he’s older.”

Niki can see things from _‘very talkative today’_ to _‘particularly nasty diaper’_ on various dates of last month, along with stickers, and it’s…endearing.

“Is it for his first year?”

“Yeah, my mum gave it to me a few days after I brought him home. I try to write in it every day, but sometimes there’s nothing to really mention.”

_‘Cutest smile to date.’_

“Do you want to look at it?”

Niki’s not sure. This isn’t his child.

“You can if you want, I don’t mind.”

James trades the calendar for Kimi, welcoming his son into his arms as Niki begins to flip through it idly.

\--

“How was his first Christmas?” Niki asks from the table, trying to read James’ messy scrawl as it’s crammed into one little block on the calendar. Kimi’s been napping since 3, and he’s due to wake up soon.

James is stirring the soup boiling on the stove, glancing back at Niki, “Not all that exciting. He was asleep for most of it. He cried while my dad carried him, so that was quite funny to me. Made my Christmas, really.” He smirks at the memory, turning back to the soup. Kimi’s face had been red, all swaddled up in a blue blanket and crying his little lungs out. Sue had calmed him down in the other room, while James smirked as he sipped at his spiked eggnog.

Niki looks up then, frowning slightly, “Do you not like your father?” He asks, uncaring how forward the question is, nor bothering with the fact that it’s a very person one.

James doesn’t know how to answer at first, until he just says, “No.”

Niki shoots back with, “Why not?”

He’s a very invasive man, James has come to realize. Niki is straight-forward, not because he’s rude, but because he doesn’t like to bullshit. James has recently come to believe that he likes that.

“He doesn’t approve of me racing for a living.” Sometimes the best way to respond to Niki is just to be straight-forward back.

The Austrian gives a hum and flips to the next month, adding after a moment, “Mine doesn’t, either.”

This is the first time Niki’s actually talked about himself. James stares at the soup for a moment, blinking in surprise and trying to think of something to say in return.

“I wanted to become a doctor, and he was supportive, but then I fell in love with racing and decided to back out. Now he hates me.”

He’s surprised at how causal he sounds.

Niki hesitates for the first time, staring down at Kimi’s calendar with pursed lips and a line between his eyebrows.

“I have to race because my father will not support me. My own grandfather denied me a loan after he found out what it was for. Racing has been a passion of mine, but lately it keeps me from being in debt.”

James turns away from the stove and goes to sit down at the table, across from Niki. He licks his lips and stares at the brunet, watching him and unsure if he should prod any further in to the other man’s history.

No, he shouldn’t. Niki hadn’t said anything more about it, so James would wait for him to explain when he was ready.

Instead, he decides to make a joke, because he’s good at that sort of thing, “I guess we have one more thing in common, Ratty,” he murmurs playfully, leaning his arms against the table and catching Niki’s eye when the Austrian glances up.

He stares at the Brit for a moment before a smirk tugs at his lips, “I suppose we do. Asshole.”


End file.
